Cycle of Self-Directed Learning in OD 650

To become self-directed learners, according to How Learning Works (page 192), students must learn to assess the demands of the task, evaluate their own knowledge and skills, plan their approach, monitor their progress, and adjust their strategies as needed.

In the online version of OD 650 students develop presentation skills through videos they create in YouTube. So in order to help students through a process they have never experienced before, I decided to use an instructional design that gradually moves them to the final outcomes through a series of experiential events.

Here is the instructional sequence I used:

1. As a setup provided a video lecture and assigned readings and other web sources on effective presentations.
2. First presentation assignment: 1 min topical video - participation grade only, specific 1:1 feedback from instructor only.
3. Class collaborates online to develop a grading rubric for the final video presentation.
4. Second presentation assignment: 3 min topical video - participation grade only, feedback from team of peers, feedback from instructor using draft of class grading rubric.
5. Class finalizes grading rubric for the last graded video presentation.
6. Third presentation assignment: 5 min final topical video - grade based on rubric, feedback from class, feedback and grade from instructor using final grading rubric.

Where are the steps in the cycle at play in this instructional design? 

• Students must learn to assess the demands of the task: since students in the class had never created YouTube videos nor given presentations online, the first assignment was designed to minimize risk and it allowed them to experience the technical and presentation challenges of this media. From here they had a basis to make an assessment on the demands of the task.
• Evaluate their own knowledge and skills: feedback on the first assignment (from the instructor only) coupled with their assigned readings on giving effective presentations gave them a framework for evaluating their own knowledge and skills. Plus, the nature of media allowed them to replay and repeat the experience for deeper analysis. In collaborating on the development of a grading rubric, they discussed and decided on what criteria should be used and the relative importance of each in evaluating their work.
• Plan their approach: The experience of the first assignment gave them an appreciation of the production of a video presentation which should have helped in planning the approach to the next assignment. But I also used milestones in Angel which created their personal task list. Online help guides showed students how to use the task list to manage their assignments.
• Monitor their progress: The second video presentation assignment was also graded on participation only so there was very little risk. This gave students a chance to test and evaluate their performance from the first event. Because they also collaborated on the grading rubric, they tested their ideas against their own performance. Feedback was provided by a small group of peers so they benefited from additional feedback but also in giving feedback to others.
• Adjust their strategies as needed: The final grading rubric was due after the second practice presentation assignment which allowed students to adjust the evaluation criteria based on additional experience and feedback they shared with each other. The final presentation was open to the entire class for group feedback and was evaluated based on the final grading rubric.

Do you think this strategy implemented the principle of self-directed learning? Do you think I actually helped them learn to be self-directed learners or just simply gave them opportunities to develop this skill? I think the later is probably the answer. I look forward to your thoughts and ideas on how to improve this process.

Chapter 7: Self-Directed Learning

After reading Andria's review of Chapter 7 on self-directed learning, I thought I should jump ahead also since I am currently designing an online version of Strategic Communication for graduate adult learners.

The chapter outlines the cycle of self-directed learning and suggests educational strategies for each phase. Strategic Communication is about interpersonal skills. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a corner stone of interpersonal skills development (how to manage self and how one handles relationships with others). Effective (strategic) communication then becomes a channel in establishing and managing relationships.

As it turns out, the processes for developing EQ (for example self-awareness and self-management) are similar to metacognitive activities described in the book.I also found a couple of studies suggesting that student blogs can help develop metacognition. In the design of the course I have one early writing assignment using a blog. I think I will expand this into a weekly assignment where students reflect on their performance using the metacognitive cycle. This would allow me to interact with each student where I can monitor and suggest strategies to the student recommended by the book.

The course will be delivered in the next term so I have time to make adjustments in the design. Should be interesting...

Chapter 1: How Does Students' Prior Knowledge Affect Their Learning?

I really like the way that How Learning Works is organized. The authors start each chapter with a couple of stories on different scenarios but related teaching situations. The stories are analyzed to identify core problems and then the authors cover what the research tells about these challenges. They end the chapter with strategies to mitigate these challenges. So I thought I would take a look at how these strategies work in my online graduate leadership course.

Methods to Gauge the Extent and Nature of Students' Prior Knowledge

MSOD students are adult learners, most of which are actively in the workforce. They come with a wide variety of experiences in leadership - good and bad. As adults they have already formed their attitudes and have preconceived ideas about leadership. The course does not require any prerequisite knowledge.

So I am not sure that formal diagnostic methods are suitable here. But the authors suggest a couple of strategies to expose students' prior knowledge that I think would work. The first is using a brainstorming activity. According to the authors, it can help uncover beliefs, associations, and assumptions. I sort of tried this during the current term. One of the most popular debates in leadership studies is comparing leadership to management so I used this in a discussion forum. It quickly identified students that lean toward behavioral and trait theories with a smaller group leaning toward contingency theories. Knowing this up front really helped me frame subsequent lessons in the course.Another method recommended by the authors is using a concept map which I would love to try but will need to think through how to do this well in an online class.

Methods to Activate Accurate Prior Knowledge

Here I tried a sequence of assignments to help students link prior knowledge to new knowledge. This included:

• Private journal assignments to reflect on how an approach to leadership is currently used, or not, in their existing organization.
• Online Team Learning Activities where a group of students share their experiences and new knowledge on a particular problem.
• Individual case study where they apply the new knowledge. 

I think the strategy is sound but it requires a number of assignments from students during a given period of instruction (in this case a two week period), some of which would normally be done in the classroom that must now be done online. I am anxious to see the course evaluations on how they felt about this.

Methods to Help Students Recognize Inappropriate Prior Knowledge

Normally I use discussion forums late in the sequence of instructional events, but this time I decided to use discussion forums as the first assignment in the instructional sequence to do two things. The first was to see if there were any conceptual issues as we transitioned from one part of the course to the next. The second was to see if there was any inappropriate prior knowledge that I needed to focus on in later assignments within the sequence. I found this very helpful.

Methods to Correct Inaccurate Knowledge

Here I used the strategy of showing where analogies break down. I did this by two methods. The first was providing explicit individual feedback to students that included my solution for the case study. For the second method I created a course instructor leadership blog where I could highlight the limitations of analogies and address other common misconceptions concerning the leadership approach we just studied. I published a blog after each major milestone in the course.

In summary I am finding the book to be a valuable guide in designing learning activities within my course. So far it seems that I am able to accommodate strategies in an online graduate course. Pretty neat...more to come.

How Learning Works - The Begining...

I was very excited to be invited by Andria Stokes into an Avila University book study. The book we are looking at is How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching by Ambrose, Bridges, Lovett, DiPietro, and Norman.

As an instructional designer, I know that learning theory should be considered in curriculum design, and as a part-time Advantage faculty member, understanding how students learn (especially adult learners) is important to me so that I can provide the best learning possible in my undergraduate and graduate leadership courses.

I plan to use this blog for reflections on the 7 research-based principles and how these apply in the design of my leadership courses and how I give instruction and facilitation especially in my online formats. I look forward to knowledge sharing with everyone in the book study group!